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Most credit card flipping sites and fan forums boast the benefits of cashing in on multiple, new credit card offers, but very few experienced flippers talk about the financial dangers that can occur. The stories from experienced flippers are appealing. Daraius Dubash, the expert behind Million Mile Secret, has visited over 30 countries paying virtually no money because of his credit card rewards.
Free airfare and hotel stays just for signing up for new credit card bonuses – what could go wrong?
The Dangers of Credit Card Flipping
While many have been successful at credit card flipping, not all should pursue it. Keep these issues in mind before filling up your wallet with the latest credit offers. [ continue reading… ]
Job security. Despite recent improvements in the employment situation, this remains an issue of concern for many Americans.
Are You Worried About Your Job?
If the pandemic taught consumers anything, it’s that your job isn’t as secure as you would like. Layoffs can happen to almost anyone. And, even if you’re not laid off, your hours could be cut significantly, or you could face a furlough. These are situations that result in lower earnings from your job. With many Americans concerned about job security, reduced hours, and unpaid leaves, the country is increasingly becoming the “have” and “have-nots”.
If you’re worried about your job, it makes sense to do what you can to prepare yourself and your finances for the possibilities of a layoff or hours reduction. [ continue reading… ]
One of my relatives asked me for money a few times in the past. The first time, he said he needed money for a security deposit on an apartment; the second time, he said the money was for groceries. Both times, he played up the situation to pull on my heartstrings: he needed his own place so he could get custody of his daughter, or he was literally starving and had exhausted alternative resources.
I caved and wired him cash. If the cash helped him out, I wouldn’t think much more of the situation. But the reality is that he’s someone who consistently mismanages money, fails to keep jobs long-term, and makes poor life decisions. He lied about where the money was going and never did get that apartment. I also suspect he used the food money to purchase cigarettes and alcohol. By now, I fully realize that giving money to him is like throwing it into a black hole.
Situations like these make you think twice about giving money to friends and family. It’s often a mental struggle because you want to help someone, yet you wonder how giving or not giving will affect the both of you, financially and relationally. Some people say the solution is to never give cash to relatives or friends, but I don’t think it’s always that black-and-white. It’s a hard and very personal decision that will vary with each situation. These guidelines can help though. [ continue reading… ]
I have a love-hate relationship with financial rules of thumb. On one hand, I recognize that not everyone is going to spend as much time thinking about and researching financial topics as they should, and rules of thumb give them easy-to-remember guidelines for staying on track. But on the other hand, these types of guidelines are often inaccurate, outdated, or outright wrong — and following them can derail the very goals you’re trying to achieve.
In particular, saving for retirement seems to be a subject that attracts these “rules.” What’s worse is that these rules will often still be stated as facts long after they’ve lost credibility.
Here are three retirement rules that no longer apply, followed by what you should be doing instead: [ continue reading… ]
We all know that we need to save for our golden years, but it can be difficult to know just how aggressive our savings goals need to be in order to fund a comfortable retirement. For many savers, it’s easier to simply put enough into the 401(k) to get the employer’s matching contribution and call it a day, but it is unlikely that this strategy will be adequate to sustain even an average retirement lifestyle.
The fact of the matter is that you will most likely need 10 and some say even as much as 25 times your annual expenses as a nest egg in order to enjoy financial security in retirement. But how do you get to that benchmark?
According to the research firm Hearts & Wallets, the best method for ensuring a comfortable retirement is burst savings. In a recent study, the research firm found that 64% of savers using this method were able to put together a nest egg at least 10x their salary. What’s most interesting about this study was that it found burst savers were likelier to reach this goal than non-savers, no matter what age they started their savings.
Here is what you need to know about burst savings and how to implement it in your life: [ continue reading… ]
One of my favorite episodes of “Pawn Stars” features a soon-to-be dad trying to sell his massive collection of Transformers memorabilia. Even though the guy ultimately didn’t sell, he was able to find out what the collection was worth — thousands of dollars, in this case. While I wouldn’t hang your hopes on getting filthy rich from your old Happy Meal toys, there are ways to make money with others’ warm and fuzzy memories. Here are just a few ways to get started: [ continue reading… ]
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